Big Time Quads: Isn't it a Rush?
by Crystal Manning
Summary: -Sequel to Big Time Quads- Everything in Hollywood is magnified. It's a tough place to navigate if you don't have your head on straight or the right friends to keep you grounded. Life in the fast lane is enough to make even the normal ones dizzy. But those that live in the spotlight? It's a battle just to survive. A valuable lesson that the Mason girls learn the hard way.
1. Look Who's Back in Town

_**Big Time Quads: Isn't it a Rush?**_

**Full Summary**: -Sequel to Big Time Quads- Everything in Hollywood is magnified: friendships, relationships, hook ups, mess ups, breakups, and breakdowns. It's a tough place to navigate if you don't have your head on straight or the right friends to keep you grounded. Life in the fast lane is enough to make even the normal ones dizzy. But those that live in the spotlight? It's a battle just to survive. Isn't it a rush?

* * *

**_Chapter 1:_**  
**_Look Who's Back in Town_**

"Are they fighting again?"

Mikalya Mason put down the book she was reading and glanced at the sliding door in the middle of the room that had just opened. She nodded at her sisters who then filed into the room and flopped down on the pile of beanbags chairs that were stacked in a corner. Raised voices poured into the room from a crack underneath the door. The identical girls flinched at the tone her father

"This is their fifth fight today," Mikayla sighed as she reached over and placed her book on her bedside table. There's no way she'd be able to concentrate on it with their parents bickering again. "The worst part is it's over who ate the rest of the Chinese food."

"That's something you'd gripe over, not them," Melanie Mason pointed out. She ignored Mikayla sticking her middle finger in her direction. "What do you think has gotten into them lately?"

"They're probably just stressed," Jasmine Mason suggested. Her sisters didn't comment right away. Both their parents _had_ been working an awful lot lately which only made them worry that it was because of _them_. Even if it wasn't spoken aloud they knew they were some sort of burdens when they were children but now as they were a year away from going to college? There's no doubt in their minds that tuition would be high and they were worried about it being covered to some degree. "I'm sure things will be better in the morning."

"You said the same thing yesterday, Jazz," Melanie pointed out. She sighed and her bangs lifted off of her forehead momentarily before falling back into place. "And they didn't stop fighting yesterday either."

The three other girls turned to look at their youngest sister, Samantha, who was painting her thumbnail. She carefully dragged the brush against her nail, leaving a green streak behind. She lifted her hand to her mouth and began to blow on it, pausing only when she saw the way her sisters were looking at her. "What?" She finally uttered.

Jazz sighed. "Sammi, aren't you worried about Mom and Dad?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She began to tug at the red necklace around her neck as she waited for a response.

Sammi shrugged and shook her head. "Yeah, kinda," she admitted. "But it's not as if they're getting divorced. They've been together for twenty-six years. Why split up now?"

"You think they could get divorced?" Mel asked quietly, turning her eyes over to Sammi. "I was just thinking that they might be separated for a bit. Not divorced but…" Her voice trailed off.

"They _are_ fighting an awful lot," Mickey mumbled, her eyes sticking to the blue paint wall across from her bed. She clutched her stuffed dog toy to her chest and ran her fingers against its synthetic hair. She let out a breath as silence fell over them only being punctuated by shouts and frustrated sighs from their parents down the hall. Mickey squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block it out her parents but it didn't work. It was almost as if they got louder. "God, I wish we could just…get away from it. Maybe give them more space and more time to focus on each other instead of being stuck in between them with all of the tension," she grumbled.

"That'd never happen. Face it, we're stuck," Sammi said as she leaned forward to begin painting her toenails.

A smile formed Jazz's face. "Don't be so sure of that…" She said slowly.

**-X-**

"What are you dorks doing?" Katie demanded as she walked into the living room. She was going to get something to eat but the sight of her older brother and his best friends slumped on the couch as if the bones had been taken out of their bodies. "Setting the world record for being dorks?"

"There's nothing to do," the boys chorused.

"But it's a beautiful day outside," Jennifer Knight said as she came into the room, a laundry basket filled with folded clothes was tucked underneath her arm. She placed her free hand on her hip. "You can sit out by the pool. Or go to the park. Or go to Rocque Records."

"We're not desperate enough to go to him to be yelled at today," Kendall replied before digging his face into the couch pillow he was resting his head on. Carlos, James, and Logan made grunts of agreement from where they were laying down. Carlos's was muffled from his hockey helmet sitting on his chest.

"This is ridiculous!" Katie grumbled while throwing her arms into the air. "You're famous! You've been on tour! You have money to spare. And you're just sitting around here when the world is at your fingertips? I'm not even allowed past the park! Stop being so pathetic!"

Mrs. Knight pointed at Katie and nodded her head. "She has a point, boys," she sighed and put the laundry basket down. "Look, I understand that going into pre-production for a new album is hard but you can't just sit around and do nothing."

The boys responded with a simultaneous, "Yes we can!"

Mrs. Knight crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, here's what's going to happen," she said before stalking over to the corner where a large bag lay. She picked it up with a slight sound of strain and then carried it over to the boys, dropping it onto the ground with a loud thud. "I'm going to go to the gym. You boys are going to take your hockey gear and go to the skating rink. And you're going to take Katie with you."

"But Mom—" Katie started to protest.

"You're going," Mrs. Knight said sternly. "And you all are going to have fun. The fresh air will do you all some good and when was the last time you played hockey? When was the last time you were in any space that had cold temperatures? When was the last time you were on ice skates?"

"You know…" Kendall said slowly as he lifted his head from his pillow. "Mom is right," he continued as he got to his feet and looked around at his friends. "Remember our plans? Remember what we wanted to do before all of this even started? Becoming All-Star hockey players and then joining Minnesota Wild?"

"Actually, I wanted to be a doctor," Logan said as he lifted his finger into the air.

Kendall waved his hand. "Details. Anyway, the point is that even though our fame has changed _we_ haven't changed. We're still the same, hockey loving guys who just so happen to be in a band and sing." He pulled his hockey stick out of his bag and gripped onto the tape, wrapped handle. "How about a little two-on-two like the good ol' days?"

Carlos jumped up; his hockey helmet perched atop of his head, and patted it twice. "I'm in! I can't wait to beat you losers…again!" He turned to Kendall and fist bumped him.

"Whoa, what do you mean 'again'?" James demanded as he jumped up as well. He put finger quotes around the word 'again'. "You've never beaten Logan and I before."

"Uh, yeah we have," Carlos responded. "Remember the hockey tournament of '99?" He asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"That didn't count! The ice was thin!" James responded. "In fact, _you_ were the one who pushed me in!" He jabbed Carlos in the chest. "I could have lost my face!" He said while pointing his finger at himself and drawing a circle.

"But you didn't," Carlos replied. "You lost the match instead."

"You're going to lose your head instead!" James vowed. With a loud cry he tackled a screaming Carlos to the ground and started pulling at his helmet. Carlos held on for dear life, still screaming, as he tried to get James to let him go.

"Are you sure you want me to spend time with these weirdos?" Katie asked while jerking her thumb in the direction of James and Carlos who were now rolling around on the ground. "I could always just go and sit out by the pool."

"And give you time to come up with another get-rich-quick scheme?" Mrs. Knight demanded with a lift of her eyebrow. "I don't think so. I love how creative you are but you need to put your evil powers to good use."

Katie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I need to make some new friends," she grumbled under her breath as she watched James and Carlos continue to roll along the ground like logs. She loved her brother dearly but sometimes he and his friends were just too…_boyish_. There was Camille and Jo she could spend time with but they were too busy being not-so-subtle about Kendall and Logan that there was no point in talking to them anymore.

It was times like these she wished she'd taken her father up on his offer of her staying with him. Sure, she'd be in Colorado but then she wouldn't be lonely every time the boys went off to do something. She tried to protest to her mother again but it fell on deaf ears. Grumbling again she went to her room and looked around for her ice skates.

It's been a long time since she had been out on the ice. She used to want to be a figure skater but that all changed when she turned seven. She didn't want anything to do with it anymore, which upset her mother for a while but eventually she got over it. Katie lightly traced her finger against her name which was stitched into the side of her white skates and let out a breath.

_Shouldn't be too bad. And I can spend some more time with Kendall. We haven't been able to do that in a while._ A smile began to form on Katie's face and she was soon energized with new hope. _Yeah, and maybe we can even feed ducks at the park like we used to on the way back and—_

"Carlos, James, save that for the game," Kendall said as he put the phone down onto the counter. He clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Camille and Jo are coming too."

_Great_. Katie's shoulders dropped but she grabbed her skates and hooked them over her shoulder anyway.

"But Camille doesn't know how to ice skate," Carlos pointed out as he popped up from the ground.

"That's where I come in," Logan said with a grin. "Being the excellent skater that I am I can get Camille to stay on her feet in no time and win points in the impression department at the same time."

"And I can impress the figures skaters with my impressive skating skills," James jumped in with a dreamy smile on his face. "Let's go!"

"Hold on!" Carlos said while holding his hand in James's face. "You're willing to break the Figure Skating Code?"

"If a pretty face belongs to a figure skater then I'll take my chances," James replied.

"Come on, let's just get going," Kendall said impatiently. "We don't want the girls to be kept waiting long. You know how impatient they get."

"You mean you know how impatient _Jo_ gets," Logan corrected him. Kendal shoved his shoulder and lead the group out of the apartment. Katie trailed behind them, scowling.

Once they arrived at the ice rink the boys almost immediately took off leaving the girls to fend for themselves. Katie, being used to it, just sat by quietly as she laced up her ice skates but Camille and Jo grumbled about it.

"I understand that hockey to them is like cars to normal guys but why invite us if we're not even going to do anything together?" Jo asked as she adjusted the scarf around her neck. She pulled it tighter and then reached behind her neck to free her hair. "We could've just sat around doing our nails. Something more productive."

"I thought you liked to skate," Camille commented.

"Well, I _do_," Jo replied. "I just thought we'd be able to do some skating _with_ them."

"One thing you need to know about those boys: nothing gets in the way of hockey. Not even girls," Katie said while hiding a smug smile. She got to her feet and smoothed out her jeans. "We can still skate around the edge." She led the girls in a line while shuffling to the entrance of the rink. Passing through the door her body shivered slightly at the vast temperature difference in the air. It made a lot of memories come back but she pushed them out as she steadily stepped onto the ice.

She wobbled slightly but quickly caught her balance, pushing off on one foot to glide a little ways away from the entrance. She stayed close to the wall to let other skaters move past her while waiting for Camille and Jo to join her.

Katie's eyes moved around the rink to rest on her brother and his friends going at each other just to reach the puck. She sighed and shook her head, pushing away from the wall.

"_Look out_!"

Before she had a chance to react Katie felt a hard shove from behind and she was knocked to the ground. She slid against the ice a few inches before coming to a rest on the ground. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" She demanded.

"Sorry, but _you_ were the one who skated in my path."

Katie rolled over so she was sitting on the ice. She brushed at her knees to make sure they were fine. They were a bit sore but they weren't bruised, thankfully.

"Are you okay?" Jo asked in concern as she and Camille skated up. "That was a nasty fall." She grasped Katie's arm and helped her to her feet right as Kendall skated over.

"You alright, sis?" He asked in concern.

"Gee, don't worry about me. I'm fine," the other skater commented while slowly getting to their feet. Their hood had fallen over their eyes and they moved a hand to push it back. Then their eyes widened in surprise and they let out a little laugh. "Well, of all of the people to run into it's you guys. LA is a lot smaller than I thought."

Kendall let out a little laugh. "Jazz! What're you doing here?"

Just then her sisters skated up as well. "Hey look! It's Kindle!" Mickey said happily. "Small world."

Jo's eyes went back and forth between the girls and Kendall. She crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat. Kendall's eyes shifted over to her and he jolted slightly. "Oh! Uh, you guys haven't met the last time you were here," Kendall said. He pointed his hockey stick in Jo's direction. "This is Jo Taylor. Jo, this is Jasmine, Mikayla, Melanie, and Samantha Mason. They're Kelly's nieces."

"It's nice to meet you all," Jo said while shaking their hands. "It's funny, Kendall's never mentioned you guys."

"Ah, well, we're not that special," Mel said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So when did you get back? Why didn't you tell us?" Camille jumped in.

"Well," Sammi started but stopped as a confused look fell upon her features. Everyone began to look around when they heard the strange sound of a falling airplane before Kendall was suddenly hit in the side and launched into the Plexiglas.

"Ooh, that looks like it hurt," Katie groaned as Kendall slumped to the ground.

"Mason!" James greeted the bunch with a charming smile as he leaned against his hockey stick. "It's great to see your beautiful face again…and yours, and yours, and yours."

"So…which Mason were you addressing first?" Jazz asked with a lift of her eyebrow as she motioned to herself and her sisters.

James's face fell. "Er…" He shifted his hockey stick that was resting on the ice only for a female figure skater who was passing by to trip over it. "Ooh. I'm sorry!" James cried.

"You're dead, hockey boy!" The girl growled.

James let out a high pitched scream and began to skate away, the girl chased after him causing the group to start laughing at his misfortune.

"Wow, that girl has a pretty mean right hook," Camille commented in surprise.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ And the Mason girls are back! What kind of trouble will they get into with the BTR boys around? I hope you all stick around to find out. Thank you for reading and please review!

~C.M.


	2. Who Sleeps at Sleepovers?

**_Chapter 2:_**  
**_"Who Sleeps at Sleepovers?"_**

"Did you see the look on his face?" Jazz laughed while pumping the handle of the Palm Woods door. "I've never seen a guy get his ego beat so quickly and so hard."

"I kinda feel bad for him," Camille spoke up as she followed the girl inside. "Being knocked out that fast, I mean. That's kind of bruising to one's ego you know?" She chuckled and settled into one of the chairs in the lobby, picking up a magazine and discarding it onto the table after a few flipped pages.

"His head needed to be deflated if you ask me," Mel said with a hint of a smirk. "I don't think I've met anyone who's so full of himself."

"Yeah but he's really sweet otherwise," Jo spoke up. "And he wouldn't be in the band or friends with the others if they didn't think he was a sweet guy."

"That's true. And it seems that he's milking this injury as well," Jazz said and jerked her chin. The girls turned in their chairs to see what she was looking at. James was standing by the counter surrounded by girls who were fawning over him and pointing at his black eye. "What lie do you think he's telling?"

"Probably that he got checked by some big, burly hockey player," Camille responded. "That could be true. He is a bit small, width wise."

Sitting at the computers Katie sighed and rolled her eyes. She thought the boys were bad, talking about girls all day. But now them? All they did was talk about James and the other boys. It was sickening. Didn't teenagers have better things to do? I that were the case she didn't want to grow up.

"What's with the face, Kid?" Mickey asked Katie. Katie looked up at the reflection of the older girl on the screen. Katie turned as Mickey took an empty seat at the computer next to her.

"Nothing," she sighed with a shrug.

"I _do_ speak girl you know," Mickey chuckled. "So I know that 'nothing' really means something."

Katie's lips pursed and she sighed again. "I just wish I had someone my age to hang out with," she responded. "You all are great, don't get me wrong but…the boys are stupid and all Camille and Jo can talk about are the stupid boys!"

"I see," Mickey said with a small nod of her head. "Well, how about we have a sleepover? You can come over to the townhouse, I'm sure Aunt Kelly won't mind. In fact she'd probably do everything in her power to make it the most talked about sleepover ever." She looked around and mimed for Katie to move closer. "She hasn't been to a lot," she stage whispered.

"I wonder why," Katie muttered sarcastically.

"Well? I can make my famous strawberry rhubarb pie—better than it sounds, I promise," Mickey said at the look on Katie's face. "Come on. I promise it'll be fine."

"Okay," Katie finally agreed. "I'll go."

"Awesome. Let me go tell the others."

"I'll go tell my mom."

Mickey and Katie parted ways and Mickey headed over to where the group of girls was sitting, only to jump back when James slid into her path. She gave him a polite smile and regained her composure. "How's your eye?" She asked politely.

He shrugged. "Doesn't hurt anymore. And I think it brings more attention to my eyes. What do you think?"

Mickey made a face at the way he was staring at her. "I think you're freaking me out," she replied and moved past him. She placed her hands on the back of Jo's chair and leaned forward slightly. "I told Katie we'd have a sleepover tonight. You girls in? We have plenty of space and the more the merrier."

"Sorry, I can't," Jo responded. "I have a date with Kendall."

"Oh? What're you two doing?" Camille asked.

"We're having a picnic in the park," she replied.

"How cute," Mel mumbled while turning her head to hide her smile. She caught Jazz's eye and the two started chuckling. Camille lightly punched her on the arm and shook her head.

"Come on, Katie's bummed," Mickey prodded. "She feels like she doesn't have that many friends. I just want to help out. We can watch movies and play games and stuff."

Jazz wrinkled her nose. "That may not be a good idea with Aunt Kelly," she said. At Camille's and Jo's questioning looks she continued. "Y'see, Kelly wasn't exactly…popular in school and didn't get invited to many sleepovers so she'd want to take that over. Add in the fact that she is _mega _competitive when it comes to games. Once she gave me a swollen lip—and we were playing air hockey."

Camille cracked up as Jo smiled. "I'll come. It'll be fun to have a night away from the guys. I can tell some cool ghost stories as well. I just heard one that will scare you all so badly you won't sleep for a week."

"The same thing happens when Mom makes chili but that's for a different reason," Mel said dryly causing the girls to laugh again. "Sleepover it is. Sounds like fun."

"Sleepover!?" Carlos repeated. He, Logan, and Kendall lumbered in through the front door. Kendall swooped down and placed a kiss on Jo's cheek, causing her to beam. "I love sleepovers? Can I come? I can bring the root beer!" He started bouncing on his toes in his excitement.

"Sorry Carlos but it's a girl's only thing," Mel said while patting his arm. She turned her attention to Kendall and added, "We're inviting Katie too just so you know where she is."

"That's fine. Now Mom can have some time alone to eat ice cream and watch her soaps," Kendall said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But that's not fair!" Carlos said with a frown. "You guys get to party and hang out and we can't come."

"Carlos, it's a _girl's_ sleepover. We're going to do each other's hair and paint each other's nails and stuff," Camille told him.

"See? A party. Well…we'll have a sleepover too! And it'll be much more fun than yours!" Carlos vowed.

Jazz scoffed. "Car, you four live together anyway. That's not a sleepover," she pointed out. Carlos pouted and she chuckled while patting his arm. "Besides, didn't you destroy Uncle Gustavo's house the last time your had a sleepover?"

"How'd you know about that?" Logan asked with lifted eyebrows.

"Read his diary," she responded. "Yeah…he's not too fond of you guys. Or 'dogs' as he says. Though I _can't_ imagine why." Jazz flinched when a beeping sound reached her ear. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. "Oh, that's Aunt Kelly. We have to go. Sam's already there. Camille, bring Katie over any time after seven alright?"

"Sure," Camille said as she stood. "I have to run through an upcoming audition but I'll let you know when we're on our way."

The girls parted with waves to the boys and went in their own separate directions.

"What's with the long faces?" Jo asked when she noticed that both Carlos and James were now pouting.

"I want to go to that sleepover!" Carlos replied while stomping on the ground.

"I want her to like me!" James responded. "I don't get the problem. I'm gorgeous, I'm in a bad, I have a good smile, I'm gorgeous, I have amazing dances moves. Did I mention that I'm gorgeous?"

"Yeah…a few times too many," Kendall said with a nod of his head. "Well…Carlos, we can just have our own sleepover. We can…we can have it at Rocque Records to make it more authentic. We can bring video games and stuff and we have musical instruments there if we want to mess around." The bright smile returned to Carlo's face. "And you James…" James's smile faltered. "I don't know how much of you we can change."

"But we have to have a better sleepover than them!" Carlos announced. "And make them want to come to _ours_ and then we can turn them away!"

"What are you, ten?" Jo asked with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, I thought we were going to go on a date tonight. Remember?" She lifted her eyebrows. "A picnic in the park?"

"I can do both," Kendall told her. "We'll just have the sleepover after the date. That way I can spend time with my favorite girl and my buds."

Jo's shoulders dropped and she smiled. "Good." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I'll try not to have too much fun without you. We'll just do our usual, stay inside and watch movies and have pillow fights and do each other's nails and talk."

"What _do_ girls talk about at sleepovers anyway?" Logan asked.

"That's for us to know…and you to _never_ find out," Jo chuckled. She waved and kissed Kendall's cheek again before walking off.

"I must know what they talk about!" James and Carlos exclaimed in unison as soon as Jo was out of earshot.

"Guys a girl's sleepover is a sacred place where they can tell each other their feelings about people they know, their favorite actors on TV, what goes on in their lives, any stresses they have, and any other sort of confidential information they can pass along and get heartfelt and honest responses about," Logan sighed. "To figure out what they talk about is like reading a page in their diary or listening in on their phone calls. We just don't do it."

"Are we going to do it?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah," Logan sighed.

"Guys, come on," Kendall sighed. "What if we hear something that we shouldn't have heard?"

"Don't you want to know what Jo really thinks of you?" Carlos prodded.

"I already know what she thinks of me."

"But what if she's saying one thing to your face and another behind your back? What if she's dating you for the publicity? Don't you want to know if your relationship is a sham?"

"No. Because it's not a sham. I trust Jo."

"_Lame_!" Logan, Carlos, and James uttered in unison. Kendall rolled his eyes.

"But wait. If we're in Roque Records, assuming Gustavo let's us have a sleepover there, how are we going to figure out what the girls talk about without him trying to get us to do extra work?" James asked.

"We'd need someone to keep him preoccupied," Carlos replied.

"Only one problem, there's four of us. We need more people," Logan pointed out.

Kendall sighed. Obviously there was no reason to try and argue with them to get him out of this. Carlos wanted his sleepover and the other two wanted to hear what the girls talked about. While he would be lying to say he didn't want to know he just didn't want to invade Jo's privacy. However when it came to them sense was usually thrown out the window.

"Not a problem," Kendall sighed in defeat. "I know some people who can come with us."

"Who?" James, Logan, and Carlos asked in unison.

**X**

"Them!?" James, Carlos, and Logan exclaimed, pointing towards Dak Zevon, WayneWayne, and Jett Stetson.


	3. Operation: GIRLS

**_Chapter 3:  
Operation: G.I.R.L.S._**

"I can't believe we're going to be working with them," James grumbled while glaring over at Jett, whom he deemed as his 'Beauty Rival'.

"I can't believe I'm this handsome," Jett responded. He pulled a compact mirror out of his pocket and began looking at his reflection. James rolled his eyes and turned away from the egotistical actor, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Let me see if I understand this correctly," Dak said while pressing his fingertips together. "Your girlfriends"—he looked to Logan and Kendall—"your friends"—he glanced at Carlos and James—"and your little sister"—he looked to Kendall again—"are having a sleepover and you, as the immature guys you are, want to use the cover of a sleepover to spy on them? And you need our help to keep Gustavo distracted just in case he tries to get you to work overtime without the labor laws coming into effect? Is that it?"

"Exactly," the four boys responded in unison.

"Yeah, that sounds like a dumb plan," Dak replied.

"And I don't like you," WayneWayne added while jutting his chin in Kendall's direction.

"_Well then!_" Kendall huffed. He crossed his arms and turned away from the three boys who stood before them.

"And besides, what would we get out of it?" Dak continued.

"…New lasting friendships?" Carlos suggested. Dak and WayneWayne exchanged a look. "Corndogs?" He offered, pulling them seemingly out of nowhere and offered them to the two boys. Jett was ignoring most of what was going on by still looking into his mirror.

Kendall rubbed his chin. A split second later he slapped Logan on the chest who jumped at the sudden strike. "Come up with an idea," he ordered.

"You're the leader," Logan pointed out while rubbing the sore spot.

"You're the idea giver-er," Kendall shot back. "Give some ideas!"

"Okay, let me think," Logan sat and took a seat on the couch. He rested one elbow on his knees and his chin on his fist, taking on the pose of The Thinker. Kendall looked at his watch and then up at Logan again. "I got it!" He said while clapping his hands and jumped to his feet. "WayneWayne…how about...we offer you a guest spot on one of our songs?"

"_What!?_" Kendall yelped.

Logan held up a hand to shush him. "And Dak, you could…get a starring role in one of our next music videos," Logan continued. "And Jett you can…well…we'll buy you a bigger mirror."

"Sold!" Jett said while tossing his mirror aside.

"That'll give him seven years bad luck," Carlos commented. But his statement went ignored by the rest of the group.

"Make sure it's a floor length mirror. I need as much reflection on myself as possible," Jett said.

"Or one to fit his big head," James muttered under his breath.

Dak's eyebrows lowered as he watched the fighting begin to unfold: Jett and James yelling something about being more beautiful than the other and Logan and Kendall arguing about the bribery given to Dak and WayneWayne to get them to join in on their scheme.

He was still trying to figure out why he was there. He had a few scripts that he could be looking over, preparing for auditions that had been lined up for him. Honestly he could have the pick of what he wanted, he was so in demand, but that didn't mean he was cocky about it and where he ended up after his years of hard work. He still had to put the effort into his work to keep his name out there. (But, let's face it; he and everyone knew it'd be a long time before his name was out of the spotlight).

He had joined forces with the Big Time Rush boys before, under a favor for Gustavo Roque to get them ready for their tour by making them run through a boot camp of sorts. And while that was great entertainment on his part he didn't really see them as friends. And yet he was there all because of Kendall. He had a very convincing sort of personality.

"Okay!" WayneWayne yelled, causing them all to stop making noise. Save for Carlos who was gnawing on the foil wrapper of a pop tart. "As much as it has always been a dream of mine to be on _that_ side of a Big Time Rush scheme," he said while cutting Kendall a look, "I don't understand why it's us that you want. We're not exactly friends."

"It was you three or Guitar Dude, Buddha Bob, and The Surgeon as our backups," Kendall explained.

"Good point," WayneWayne sighed. "But I still don't like you!"

"Well I still don't like you!"

"We need to have a name for the operation!" Carlos interjected. "All good plans have good names. Like Operation: Falcon or Dynamo or something else really cool."

"Luckily for you I already found the perfect name," Logan announced as he wheeled a whiteboard into the room. Written on it in green Expo marker were two words: **_Operation: G.I.R.L.S._ **He removed the cap of his marker and drew a line underneath the title, replacing the cap with a large smile.

"Operation…G.I.R.L.S.?" Dak read slowly. Next to him WayneWayne slapped his face with his palm, a reaction that Dak wanted to echo. For guys who were so infamous for their schemes they came up with _horrible_ names.

"Yeah."

"What does that stand for?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Logan pulled on his pointer and tapped each letter while explaining the word behind it. "Get in, research, leave, and sleep. That's the goal: get in, get research, leave, and sleep."

"Wow…never would've figured that out," Dak said while slowly shaking his head.

"Is it that clever or that stupid?" WayneWayne asked him. Dak pressed his fist to his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

"Look, you don't have to help us. We'll be fine going in alone," Kendall pointed out.

"I want my mirror!" Jett proclaimed loudly.

"And I want to date Angelina Jolie and that's not going to happen," James shot back.

"But what _will_ happen is me beating you in a male beauty contest."

"That's crossing the line, Stetson!"

"Look, I don't care if you're in or not," Kendall said over the noise. "I have a date I need to prepare for. If you're in, meet us at Roque Records around seven. If not, well, I can't say I'll miss you." He brushed past the two, reached over the counter of the island, and revealed a large picnic basket. "If you'll excuse me, I have a girlfriend to sweep off her feet." And with those words he left the crib with a smirk on his face for he knew that no matter what happened that night he would not hear anything that Jo was keeping from him.

Shortly after Kendall left WayneWayne and Dak left the apartment themselves, leaving behind Carlos who was stating a video gamer marathon, Logan who was scribbling out plans on his whiteboard, and James who, along with Jett, were shoving mirrors in the other's faces to prove who was hotter than the other.

The whole thing made Dak laugh.

They were supposed to be Big Time Rush, the boy band that was poised to take over the world and bring back the pop music making machine. But from what he saw they were a bunch of guys who were distracted by the flash and the glamour that was Hollywood who just so happened to sing because of a contract. Their star had dimmed a bit and he found it a bit sad, thinking that they were talented.

It would be long before Hollywood chewed them up and spat them back out.

"So are you going to go or…?" WayneWayne asked. His hands were shoved in his jacket pockets and his heavy, black boots clomped hard on the ground with each step he took. His hard face was squinted as a reaction from the bright, California sun.

"They're crazy," Dak stated. "But it's never a dull moment around them. So I guess so. I could use a break from reading the scripts."

WayneWayne rolled his eyes. "Because reading is _so_ tough."

Dak punched him on the arm. They were exactly friends either but WayneWayne didn't mind Dak's company. It gave him someone to talk to. Otherwise he was sitting around in his room jumping on any opportunity he could to get an audition to finally shed his image of working with the Ziggle Zaggles and _Magic Middle School_. And at this point he'd take anyone that was willing to talk to him. Not that he'd let onto his desire.

"What about you?" Dak asked.

WayneWayne scratched behind his ear. "I figured I'd go. If anything I'd get a laugh out of them and their crazy schemes when it inevitably fails."

Dak grinned. "I hear you. Well, I'm going this way. Later."

WayneWayne held up his fingers in a peace sign over his shoulder and went in the opposite direction. His boots landed heavily on the ground as he walked down the street, navigating around the other pedestrians on the street. The longer he walked the stronger the urge to run in the other direction overwhelmed him but he knew it was much better to keep going than to turn around.

His fingers curled into fists when he neared his street, watching as the city slowly changed into suburban landscapes with large houses, perfect lawns, and shiny sports cars sitting in each and every driveway. He waved at a few kids that were jumping through the sprinklers in one yard, their laughter wrapping around him like a scarf in winter.

His smile didn't last long on his face. It faded almost as soon as he stepped through the threshold of his home, sealing out the sounds of joy and receiving the sounds of loud snores in response.

"I'm home, if you care," WayneWayne mumbled under his breath as he stepped around the beer cans that littered the floor. The sleeping lump on the couch stirred and rolled over. Emitting a loud snore once more. He went straight to the stack of mail that sat atop of the kitchen table and started shuffling through it. He dropped it back onto the table and went over to the phone which had a red blinking light on it. He pressed the button and leaned against the counter, waiting to hear the messages. He skipped the first two and listened to the third.

"_Hey Wally, it's Jean. It looks like they're going to go with someone else for this TV show. I know you were looking forward to this one but I have some more scripts for you to look at. If you_—"

WayneWayne deleted the message and rubbed at his eyes.

Another chain added to his ankle-ball.


	4. Devious

**_Chapter 4:  
Devious_**

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Katie," Mrs. Knight commented while watching Katie stuff her overnight bag. "I'm not sure I'm so comfortable with you spending the night with girls who are significantly older than you."

Katie scoffed and added another pillow to her bag along with a slingshot and a package of balloons. "Please," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You let me stay here with four guys who are, arguably, a lot younger than me when it comes to maturity alone." Mrs. Knight nodded her head. Katie smiled smugly when her mother agreed with her thoughts and shove shoved a package of mini marshmallows into the top of the bag as well. "And they're my friends, Mom. You know how Camille is like and it's not like an adult won't be there. Kelly will be around."

"Hmm," Mrs. Knight hummed. "How about this, you give me a call every other hour to let me know how you're doing."

"_Or_," Katie stressed, pausing in her packing. "I _don't_ call you and you trust me to go off to a sleepover party with my friends." She placed her hands on her hips. "C'mon Mom, you know how the Mason girls are like. And you know how Camille and Jo are like. They even each other out. It's not as if we're going to escape in the middle of the night and shoot off firecrackers underneath Kendall's bed."

Mrs. Knight's eyes squinted. "I thought I confiscated all of your fireworks. Do I need to give you a pat down again? I'll take out the scanner if I need to."

Katie rolled her eyes and then slowly shook her head. "Mom, I understand you're going through the whole My-baby-is-growing-up moment but we've gone through this many times. How are you going to react when I go off to school?"

"Easy, I'll just move into an apartment down the street so I can make sure your still have a balanced meal during the day," Mrs. Knight responded with a bright smile.

Katie lightly slapped her face with her palm and shook her head. "As fun as that sounds I'm not a baby anymore, Mom." She sighed and approached her mother. Placing her hands on her mother's shoulders she said, "I can tie my own shoes and walk across the street without needing to hold your hand. I do my own laundry and I have my own banking account. I can cook for myself and I handle my own finances. I'll be fine spending the night at a friend's house Mom. You have to let go of me sometime."

"I know," Mrs. Knight sighed, gently running her fingers through her daughter's fringe. "It's just hard to see my little baby growing up."

"Well, I'm not a baby anymore," Katie pointed out. "I can take care of myself Mom. Please stop worrying about me." She gave her eyes a little roll and added in a bit of a mocking tone, "I'll make good choices."

Mrs. Knight cupped her cheek. "That's my girl. Call me if anything comes up."

"I won't," Katie responded, lifting the strap of her bag to her shoulder. "I'm going to wait for Camille and Jo downstairs. See you later." Leaning over she kissed her mom's cheek and then left the room. She took the elevator down to the first floor and stepped out, whistling a random tune.

She had only been sitting down in one of the lobby chairs for a few moments when the sight of Jo caught her eye. She waltzed into the lobby with a large smile on her face and a picnic basket clutched in her hands.

"Hey Katie," Jo greeted her.

"Hey Jo," Katie greeted simply. "Ready for the sleepover?"

"Everything's all packed but I'm going to be coming by later. I have a date." She lifted the picnic basket and waved it around. Katie fought the urge to roll her eyes again. _As if no one knew that._ "Speaking of, where is your brother?"

Katie shrugged. "Probably out with the guys doing something stupid," she responded while picking at her nails. "Did you check the pool? They could be trying to win over The Jennifers for the umpteenth time. Spoiler alert: they'll fail."

A laugh sort of scoff came from Katie's throat at her own comment. Her eyes swiveled up and over to Jo who was leaning over and staring hard out the windows of the lobby that lead to the pool area. A slow, sly smile formed on Katie's face and she let out a light cackle. Clearing her throat she stretched the muscles around her mouth to make sure she had a straight face when Jo looked at her again.

"Kendall's not…helping them out, is he?" Jo asked slowly. "You know Kendall. He can be a bit too…oblivious to things. That doesn't end well with someone so sweet."

"Oh you don't have to worry about Kendall," Katie said with a wave of her hand. "No, no, he's a one woman man. Only has eyes for those that capture his heart. If you don't believe me, just ask Kira."

Jo blinked. "Who's Kira?"

Katie waved her hand again. "Oh, his ex-girlfriend. First one. Back when they were twelve, they watched local hockey games together sometimes; it wasn't too big of a deal." Jo nodded slowly and looked out the window again. "Not like Kylie." Katie mentally smirked when Jo's eyes shot back in her direction.

She struggled to keep a straight face as Jo slowly sat down, staring hard at her. "Now _she_ was his first serious girlfriend. She used to be my babysitter. I really liked her. She was a cheerleader but she could play football like the guys. Everyone loved her. But then she moved away, sadly. Kendall was heartbroken after that. Wouldn't play hockey for a month."

"Oh." Jo slowly bobbed her head. "Well…that's good to know." She pursed her lips and twisted her mouth to the side. Katie looked at her fingernails again and slowly counted backwards in her head from ten. Once she reached 'one' Jo spoke up, as she suspected the blond would. "So, um…how many girlfriends has Kendall had?"

"Let's see…" Katie's eyes shifted to the ceiling. "There was Kira, Kylie, Kendra, annnnnd….oh yeah! And Kailey. _They_ lasted for a long time. It was sad to see her go. Mom loved her." She dropped her eyes to study Jo's face and silently laughed at the jealousy that sat in Jo's hazel eyes. "But people move on. Grow apart. Change. You always learn from your past relationships, right?"

"Of course," Jo said with a bit of a laugh. "Right. The only way you really grow is from learning experiences." She clicked her tongue. "And I just learned a lot," she muttered under her breath.

_Okay Katie, time to turn things up! _Katie lightly licked her lips and glanced around the lobby to be sure that they weren't being overheard. "I'm surprised you two haven't talked about this yet," she continued in mock surprise. "I mean, you two are so close and you tell each other _everything_." She paused and then added, "Well, I guess not everything. I mean, he hadn't mentioned the Masons, which is really odd. Kendall loves to talk about how great his friends are—he likes for his girlfriends and his friends to be on good terms with each other, you know. But…he never mentioned them did he?"

Jo shifted in her seat and shook her head. "No, they never came up," Jo said with a small smile. "They must not be that close."

"No, you're right. The boys have only known them for a year." Katie studied her face, taking great pride in seeing that her eyebrows had lowered and were now furrowed. "They aren't too close. I mean the boys have flown them out during any break they had and invited them to award shows and red carpet events and tried to get their vacation times lined up." She shrugged her shoulders. "Normal friend things. I'm sure they'd do it for anyone."

"Just a year, huh?" Jo's fingers began to drum on the armrest and Katie decided then to go in for the kill.

"Mhm," Katie said with a nod. "But they e-mail back and forth all of the time. Carlos and Mickey usually. But Kendall and Jazz e-mail a lot, talking about each other's lives. I think Kendall misses being normal sometimes, and it's good to have a friend that can keep their head on their shoulders. Good to have a friend who's normal and not out to get into the spotlight. Everyone needs a friend like that, don't you think?"

Jo let out a slow breath and her smile returned. "Yeah, I have a girlfriend like that at home myself," she said, a bit of an edge to her voice.

Just then Kendall sauntered into the lobby, holding a boquet of roses in his hand. "For you, m'lady," he said with a low bow. He held the roses out to Jo who took them with a little smile. Draping an arm around her shoulders he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "What're you two talking about?" He asked, looking from Jo to Katie.

"Oh we're just discussing how much fun the sleepover should be, Big Brother," Katie said with an innocent smile. "Speaking of which, there's Camille now." She jumped out of her seat and reached for her bag as the aspiring actress in question greeted them with a smile and wave. "I'll see you tomorrow," she addressed Kendall. "And you later," she said to Jo, widening her smile.

"Uh, yeah…" Jo said with a nod.

"Ready to go?" Camille asked the younger girl.

Katie nodded. "You bet!"


End file.
